Changed With Death
by Angel N Darkness
Summary: James Potter lost his wife but somehow managed to survive. Will he just keep surviving and/or existing or will he choose to keep on living so that he can do his son proud? What does he choose after a conversation with Severus Snape? Written for the Ultimate Chocolate Frog Card Club on HSOW&W forum! AU since James lives! Slight Dumbledore bashing!


A/N: This story will be a oneshot and it's for the Ultimate Chocolate Frog Card Club on HSOW&W! This story will be AU! And James will live but Lily died… Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own HP!

 **(Gold): James Potter:** _(27 March, 1960 – 31 October, 1981), also known as Prongs, was a pure-blood wizard and the only son of Mr and Mrs Potter. He attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry from 1971 to 1978, and was Sorted into Gryffindor House. When James started at Hogwarts, he met and befriended fellow Gryffindor students Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew._

Challenge: Write about James Potter.

 **Word Count: 1,587 words**

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James Potter sighed as he stared down at his son. He hated that his beautiful baby boy had lost his mother but knew that whatever Lily did helped to enable their infant son to live and he would forever be grateful for that. He had been beyond pissed when he found out that Dumbledore had placed Harry with Lily's ungrateful and bitter sister and he wasn't shy about letting the older man know it. He took great pleasure in going to Petunia's house and getting his son. His pleasure grew as he watched both Petunia and Vernon Dursley be arrested right in front of him once he found out where they had put his son.

He shook his head to clear his thoughts because he knew that thinking like that would just cause all the anger he had felt towards the Dursley's and Dumbledore to come back and he couldn't afford that right now. He could breathe easier now because after pressing charges against Dumbledore for kidnapping, subverting his wife's will, and even having Sirius Black thrown into Azkaban without a trial he had found out just why Dumbledore had done everything that he did. Him and several others spent several weeks looking for the items that would tether Voldemort to this work and once they found them they destroyed them completely.

Now, his son would never have to grow up to fight against the man who tried to kill him and did kill his mother. He would make sure that Lily's memory lived on because she deserved to be revered for what she did for their son. Sometimes life threw curveballs that you didn't expect but when that happened the only thing you could do is go along with it until life straightened back out once more. He knew that Lily would have loved what him and everyone else did that day for Harry's birthday because it was something that she would have picked to do.

After one last look, he walked out of his son's bedroom and down to the living room where one Severus Snape was waiting on him. He had so much that he needed to make up for with the other man and he knew just where he had to start. His eyes connected with Severus's and he nodded slightly. Once he sat down he stared at the other man for a good five minutes before he finally cleared his throat. "First off, I want to tell you that I am sorry for everything I ever did to you while we were at Hogwarts. I will admit that I was an arrogant asshole but you also gave as good as you got. I know that nothing will excuse what I did and/or said but I could see how close you were to Lily and I knew that she could end up choosing you and not me. I fell in love with Lily when I was eleven years old and it only grew from there."

He took in a deep breath and let it out as he ran a hand through his hair. "The one thing all Potter's are known for is finding the one person they will love unreservedly early in their lives. I didn't want to lose her before I ever got her. I never thought that by targeting you like I did that it would push her away from me. She loved you, Severus, and she forgave you for what you said the second you said it. You were her rock and her brother in all but blood. I should have seen that and since I didn't I'm sorry for that as well. Albus Dumbledore thought it was fun to encourage the Slytherin and Gryffindor rivalry to the point that it was almost open warfare between the two houses. He admitted to that during his questioning."

He shook his head. "I don't want my son to grow up and be the kind of person that I was because Lily deserves better than that since she gave her life for him. I would like for you to be a part of his life as he grows up because you can tell him stories about Lily that I can't. I want you to be a part of his life as he grows up because it would be what Lily wanted. Second off, I, James Charlus Potter, hereby do release Severus Tobias Snape from the life debt that he owes me for saving his life while we were at Hogwarts. So I say, so mote it be."

Severus was stunned even as he automatically whispered, "So mote it be." He shook his head to clear it as he looked at his old rival. "Lily meant the world to me, Potter, and she was my sister in all but blood. I can tell now that the love I felt for her was brotherly and not romantic like I had thought. You've grown up, Potter, and it's about damn time. You have lost so much that it is hard to still be the person you were back in school. Everything has changed as much as it has stayed the same. As you said I did give as good as I got. I say that we put the past behind us and live in the present and for the future. Lily deserves to be remembered as the kind of person she was and she wouldn't want us to continue fighting one another."

James nodded and smiled slightly. "She always told me that if I got to know you that I would like you. She talked more about you than she did her own sister and now I can clearly see why and understand it. I smiled the entire time that Petunia and Vernon were being arrested because they were finally getting what they deserve. I miss Lily every damn day and some days I don't know how to keep going on. Before she gave birth to Harry she was my world and after Harry was born both her and Harry were my world. She kept me centered. Some days I find myself wanting to tell her something that Harry did and then I realize that I can't because she is no longer here."

Severus smiled sadly. "She would want you to keep on living, James. She wouldn't want you to stop just because she isn't here any longer. You want to know what to do? If you have something you want to say to her then find a picture of her and tell her it. You're going to keep on missing her just like I do and there isn't anything that we can do about that. She wouldn't want us to give up just because she isn't here to prod us along. She's probably on the other side grinning right about now because we're talking to one another calmly and not screaming or throwing hexes at one another."

James chuckled. "I lost count how many times she hexed me because I hexed you."

Severus snorted. "It is the same with me. She hexed me when I hexed you. Hell, she even started hexing Regulus and Sirius Black when those two started hexing one another." He stood up. "I have to get back to Hogwarts because Poppy needs some potions made for the infirmary but I'll stop by tomorrow to see you and Harry. If you need me or anything before that send word to me and I'll come."

James stood up and smiled a real smile at Severus. "Thank you for forgiving me even though I don't deserve it. I'll see you tomorrow, Severus."

He walked Severus to the door and saw him out before he locked up and walked back to the living room. He sat down in his favorite chair and stared at the picture over the fireplace which was of him, Lily, and Harry when he was only three months old. He really did miss her like crazy but knew that everything Severus said to him was the truth. He was going to have to find a way to balance everything because he didn't want to disappoint Lily's memory. He would make sure to start living again instead of simply existing or surviving like he had been for the last year.

He had made peace with Severus finally and felt better for it. Now, he would just have to make sure that his son learned that he should never treat someone like he had treated Severus. He would have to make sure that his son was a better kid than he was while at Hogwarts. He didn't want his son to regret his school years like he did. He would do whatever he had to, to make sure that his son always did the right thing even if it was the hardest thing he would ever do at that point in his life. He would raise his son in the way that Lily would have wanted him raised.

He smiled at the picture before getting up and going to his bedroom. He needed some sleep because tomorrow was going to be another big day. Then again with his son being three years old now every day was a big day. He really couldn't wait to see what new thing Harry would do the next day. He would live for Lily, for Harry, but most importantly for himself because while he lost his wife he still had a lot of living left to do.

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A/N 2: *snorts* I just realized I forgot to add a couple facts... This story takes place eighteen months after Lily died because James was in a coma for sixteen of those months! That is why the conversation between James and Several seems to be a long time coming instead of right after Lily died... Hope you all liked this story... Click the button and let me know what you think!


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